Adjusting apparatus for brake-rigging.



L. E. @Livr-1R35 A. GURETON.

ADJUSTING APPARATUS FOB. BRAKE RIGGING.. APPLxoATIoN FILED MAY 17, 1911.

yfggg, Panama. 591315.51911.

2 SHEETS-SHHET ll.

Amd

L. 5.0mm L A. GUR'ETUN. ADJUSTING APPARATUS FOB BRAKE RIGGING.

Arrmoulo'iw mmv un 1'1, 1911.

Patented sept. 5, 193,1.

ADJUSTING APPARATUS ron BnAKE-nreslnelfw" y A v y UNITED STATES PATENT.

LoUIs OLIVER, orMnYvvoon, entretenerenmarcar, or cnrcneo, ILLInoIs Specification of Letters )Patent` i i Sept`5rf911.

originar application inea Decemberev, 1910, serial 110.599,265. Divided `and this application inea may 17,

To-cZZ 'whom firmada] concern:

i I, Adjusting vApparatus for Brake-Rigging, ofy

z vt'hichthe following is aspecification.

.pflfhis invention relates to improvementsin brake rigging for :street railway cars and A.Beitknoyvn that We, Louis E. OLivER and ALBERT CUREToN.c1`t1zens of the Unlted y `States,landresidentsof the cities of May- ,Wood and-Chicago, respectively, county of j `Coolgland State of Illinois, have invented o certainV new)v and useful 'Improvements in lmore particularly tobrake rigging in cars inA which four'ptvheeled trucks are employed, the

"presentfinvention being a division of our pending application, Serial No.V 599,265,

' filed December 27th, 1910.

u The object of ourinvention is the pro- 20d 'l by the` motorman or trainman when desired fduction'of means whereby theslack of the brake'rigging in cars of the character mentioned may be readily' taken up or adjusted without necessitating crawling under the car or of driving thecar to a position over a pit,

l :in order that the bottom of thel car may be' accessible,l this being required Where brake rigging of the ordinary construction is used' i` inorder to effect adjustment of the latter.

Afurther objectis'the production of adjusting means' of the character -mentioned which will "be" of economical construction and of high? efficiency in operation.

l l? ",Otherobjects. willappear hereinafter.

ments of v ,y Vifth lthese 'objects invview our invention consists in the `combination and arrange parts :hereinafter described andv f claimed. `V Y Ourv invention Will'be'best understood by" l' reference. to the accompanying "drawings forming-a part of this specification, and in which,

Figure'l is a bottomplan viewof a con- ,ventionlalform 'of street car truck of; the 'fjfourjwheeled type, to which is applied adjusting mechanism embodying our 1nven- 60.' mechanism f l 1 Rrbiiisieergteth emma. fw@ have.

tional \deta'l"fof -af portion of Serial No. 627,714.

\ connected in the usual,l mann operating brake rod 14:; Said e Amediate its extremities 1s g pivot it illustrated a conventional'street cail ivhich four Wheeled trucks of the 'ordinary'ty 'e are employed, the brake 'rigging lfftlieflatter being operated in the ordinary manner,-

As illustrated in the drayvings'liindiczltles thel body of the car eachl endy of Nich is mounted upon the transversely fe tending body bolster 2; f- Arranged direct below the bolster 2 is the truck bolster orcliannel Ibang, the latter being connected'witli "the bolster 2 for oscillatory'movement relative 'to the latter by means of the usual king bolt or plate 4;. n l

Arranged belenr the bolster 3 are ftheusual brake `beams 5 Which are mounted in the usual manner for horizontal `movement longitudinally ofthe car. CarriedV by the brake beams 5 at t-he extremities thereof arethe brake shoes arranged for coperation with the peripheriesv of the Wheels. 7, the arrangement being such thatmovement of the bralrefbeams toward the respective pairs tof Wheels' effects theforcingof the brake shoes into engagement with said Wheels and the consequent retardation thereof.v Said brakesh'oes are normally held 1n" released y position, that isout of engagement/With the wheels 7 by means of release" springs@ the upper extremities ofwhich are 4Xe'd d t bolster 2,l the lower .extremitiesH ysprings engaging against l the outer the beams tasclearly shown in FigI The mechanismfor effecting opera of the brakel beams as above ment" end ,is substantially the conventional `ty mechanism comprising the relative tionary brake'lever 9 the `upper'eri of which is fulcrumedat 10 to :the st -iorlariy bracket 1'1 rigidly-secured to aindlp je from the bolster 2.r The leverin`y r -its extremities is pivotally connected, al: 12. by means of the arm 12 Withfth'ea, 'glent brake beain- 5, so that -upon outward Ygingingof said lever the shoesv 6 clariidfbysaid brake beam will be forced 4with, the carl Wheels .with

Same serieel* cooperates, Arranged at` the l oppositeside of the holsters 2 andlylisithefloatiiigbialge lever` 13 Athe upper e-,Xtrelnity` f l y 4() vwhich isiuiiternally correspondingly screvv threaded-so that by rotation. of said' sleeve said member 16 may be forced; apart or i t-r'eniities of the levers 9fand 13 are connected .byfthe coupling bar so'that upon properv :pull-ing -or drawing of .the brake rod 14:

neeted at 15 by means of an arm 15' with the otliei'of the bralre beams 5. The loiverjexthe saidlevers 9 and 13 will be svvun'gA to ".'eieot the forcing 'of the shoes 6 cooperating therewith into engagement with car wheels. The operations of the levers 9 and 13 and the parts connected therewith upon the above `mentioned drawing or pulling of the 'brake rod 14 isv Well lmovn, the coupling l bar connecting the lower extremities of the brake levers 9 and 13 serving as a fuleruni l'for the latter in such. operation, and 'as ,a

means of outwardly swinging the lower end ofthe lever 9. As will be observed the arrangement is such that by adjusting 'the l 4length of said' coupling barfthe amplitudeA 20.

of' free 'movement Orslack `of said brake levers and the parts,` connected therewith,

.that is the-brake rigging may be adjusted, it

beingobvious that by increasing the length N j of said coupling bar such slackjvill be taken,

up vor mitigated, and that by reducing the y length of'said coupling bar such slack Will be increased. The construction of the coupling bar lpermitting of such longitudinal adjustment Vthereof and the means whereby so longitudinali adjustment of said' bar may be readily effected constitutes. our invention,

this being set forth. in the following Said.

coupling bar comprises tivo arlining parts 16 the louter ends of which are pivotally connected to the lower ends of 'said levers 9 ,and 13, the same being held against relative movement thereby. The inner ends of the members 16 rare'providedrespectively with rightv andg-le'fthand screw threads which are engaged the lextremities of a sleeve 17 drawn together to' inc1ease or decrease the length ofthe coupling bar.l The' arrange mentv is such, as -Willb'e observed, that by rotating the vsleeve 17 in one direction the length of the coupling member, 'that is the distance; between thek lower ends of the levers 9 and 13 may be increased, and that byrotating said sleeve in the'opposite direcn tion, such length may be decreased and hence the distance between the lower ends of said levers Correspondingly'V lessened. 55.A

Fixed to the sleeve 17 is a bevel gear 18.

= Arranged coplanar With the sleeveY 1.7 is a transversely extending shaft 19 carrying at its f inner extremity a bevel gear 20'vvhich meshes with the gear 18. The inner extremity` of: the shaft 19 is rotatablygmounted in -f a substantially U-shaped bearing or. yoke 21 the extremities of which embrace said sleeve 17,- the outer end ofthe shaft 19 being v i :Leashes ably located.4 y j y In the operation of the brakes, the con,- necting bar is'moved slightly longitudinally, the inner end of the shaft being therefore required to move correspondinglyy in 'order mounted in a bearing block 22 which is suit-V =that the gearslS and 20 shall remainconstantly in'mesh. 'To permit of this movement of the inner-end of 'the shaft 19 a knuckle or uniyersal joint 23 is interposed in said shaft. Said shaft adj acent said knuckle joint is loosely supported in a bearin 'l so as -toper'mit'of aslight horizontal osci latory l .movement thereof.l Said last mentioned bearingcomprlses substantially. U-'shaped orforked b0d`y24 the'supportingfstem orl bracket 24 of which lis rigidly secured at its upper eind to the under side of the bolster 3. The lower extremities of the parallelly exten ing end. portions of the member 24 are bifurcated for the' receptiou of the extremities of the bar 25, the latter being lso Aadjustably secured Vin position by means of set screws 26. 7W ith this arrange-ment, it will be observed, that the inner end portion ofthe shaft-19 will be supported. in the manner above mentioned upon the upper edge of the bar '25. The outer extremity of the shaft 19 terminatesjat one side -of the fear, the same beingprovided with a crank or operating bar 27 'which loosely engagesI a perforation or socket 28 provided for the reception thereof in the outer extremity of said shaft; In' operation, the extremities of the .operating member 27 engage the socket 28,' said member 27 being so formed that when either extremity thereof isv so engaged theouter end portions of said member will project outwardly. for ready engagement by .the hand so to permit of ready..rotation thereof. In order to prevent relative ro 19 in order to effect rotation of the sleevey 17 of the connecting bar in effecting longi tudinal adjustment of the latter, as above` described, may be readily and expeditiously accomplished by manual engagement and rotation of the member 27 from a position alongside the car. as set forth. then, upon thef'motormanv or otheryiirainman desiring to adjustv the brake With theA construction v y riggimj,` to either increas'eor lessenthe slack,

3u the exact details ends' th areof to effect for railwa it is'only required, from ahposition alongside'ithe' car at the exteriorly projecting extremity of the shaft 19, to unlock or release the member 27 and proceed in the manner above mentioned, by manipulation of the member 27, to rotate said shaft 19.

The brake rigging adjusting means as set forth is durable and economical, the same is of great efficiency in. operation, and is not susceptibleto readily becoming inoperative.

he provision of mechanism of this construction in street cars will render the latter better Vfitted to serve theI purpose for which they' are designed since the motorman or other person in control of the car may at all times maintain the proper slack in the brake rigging thereby avoiding accidents which not infrequently occur by reason of the absence Iof the proper slack in the brake rigging; and

also 1n a savingto the company operating the cars since, without the proper slack in the'brake rigging, a car may not be operated to its best advantage.

While we have illustrated and described the preferred form of our construction for in our invention into edect, this is capab e-o variation and modification without .departing from the spirit of the invention.

e therefore do not wish to be limited to of construction `'set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such variations and modifications as come within the scolpe of the appended claims. avingdescribed our invention what we claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent isz,

1. The combination with a brake rigging y cars comprising spaced fulcrumedbra e levers adapted through adjustment of. the distance between corresponding the adjustment of'the in said riggin of a two-part bar extending'between an connecting said ends of saidlevers; rotatable means connecting the adjacent ends of said bar parts and adapted when rotated in opposite directions to force said bar parts apart and draw the same to- -fward each other; and a manually rotated shaft operatively connected with said means for effecting rot-ation thereof, substantially as described.

2. .The combination with a brake rigging for railway cars comprising spaced fulcrumedbrake levers adapted through aldjustme'nt of the distance between correspondmg ends thereof to effect' the adjust-ment of theslack in said rigging, of a two-part bar extending between and connecting said ends of said levers; rotatable means connecting the adjacent ends of said bar parts and adapted when rotated in opposite directions toA-forcefsaid bar parts apart and draw the same toward each other; and a manually rofirst mentioned tatable shaft and a gearl carried by'said shaft operatively connected with' said means 65 for effecting rotation thereof, substantially as described. I l "jf y The combination with a'bra-lterigging for railway cars comprisin spaced;-full f crumed brake levers adapte f through ad-v 'l0 j ustment of the dist-ance between corresponding ends thereof to effect the adjustment of the slack in said rigging, of a two-part bar extending between and connecting said ends of said levers; rotatable means -connectin the adjacent ends of said bar parts and adapted when rotated in opposite directions to force said bar parts-apart and draw the vsame toward each other; a gear carriedby said means; and a manually rotatable shaft and a gear carried by said shaft and meshing with said first mentioned gear for effect-ing rotation of said adjusting means, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a brake rigging for railway cars comprising yspaced fulcrumed brake levers adapted through adjustment of the distance between corresponding ends thereof to effect the adjustment of the slack in said rigging, of a two-part bar extending between and connecting said ends of said vbrake levers; a sleeve embracing the adjacent ends of said bar parts Vand adapted when rotated to adjust the distance between said bar parts; a gear carried by said sleeve; and a manually rotatable shaft and a gear carried by said shaft and meshing with said first mentioned gear for rotating said sleeve, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a. brake rigging for railway cars comprisinv spaced fulcrumed brake levers adapte through adjustment of the distance between corresponding ends thereof to effect the adjustment of the slack in said rigging; of a two-part bar extending between and connecting said ends of said 'brake levers, the adjacent ends of said bar parts being opposingly screw threaded; a sleeve having internal opposing screw threads at its opposite ends engaglng and connecting said ends of said bar parts; a gearcarried by said sleeve; a manually rotatable transversely extending shaft; and a gear carried by said shaft meshing with saidl gear, substantially as described. i 6. The .combination with a brake rigging for railway cars comprising spaced fulcrumed brake levers adapted through adjustment of the distance between corresponding endsthereof to effect the adjustment of the slack in said rigging; of a two-part bar eX- tending between and connecting said ends of said brake levers, the adjacent ends of sald bar parts being opposingly screw threaded; a sleeve having internal opposing screw fhrfads t its opposite ends gngag'mg and fatable transversely extendin'gashaft; a. gear l 'mentioned gear; and a universal joint ntern testmony whereof ve-have signed our l(':llvme'et'xpxg lsaid ends of said bai parts; gear carried by Said sleeve; a manually ro- Witnesf s.

LUUS OLVER. MJBERT CURETUN. Witnesses: f

W. asma, JOISHUA H. PQTTS.

' 'two Subsclbing crr'lby said shaft meshing with said rst pedyin. sad'shaft, rsuostaintially as de@ a names/t0v this specification in the presence Qi QQ.: 

